JELL-O Banana Cake Balls

When you're looking for a simple dessert that can be served at the dessert buffet table or just want to put together a platter of bite-sized treats for the kids, make up a batch of Banana Cake Balls made with JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding. These cake balls taste like they're made from scratch and can be decorated in dozens of different ways. They're a great addition to any party menu and you can make them hours ahead of time. If you're watching your waistline, just a couple of these will curb that sweet tooth without derailing your diet.

Here's a simple recipe and guide for making JELL-O Banana Cake Balls:

What You Need:

½ cup cold milk

1 package (3.4 ounces) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 small fully ripe banana, mashed

1 package (10.75 ounces) frozen pound cake, thawed, crumbled into fine crumbs

3 packages (4.4 ounces each) milk chocolate bars, chopped

2 tablespoons multi-colored sprinkles

Directions:

Stir milk and pudding mix in a medium bowl with a large spoon just until the pudding mix is moistened. Add the mashed bananas and cake crumbs and mix until well-combined. Your mixture will look a lot like very heavy cookie dough. Shape this mixture into 36 1-inch balls and place on a waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Freeze the banana cake balls for an hour.

In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate on high for 1 to 1 ½ minutes, stirring after the first minute. I used Hershey's milk chocolate bars for this recipe but you can use almost any type of chocolate (see below for variations).

Dip the frozen balls into the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Top the balls with sprinkles immediately. Let these set on the baking sheet until the coating is firm to the touch, then transfer to a serving dish.

Preparation Tips:

- Use a large melon baller or cookie scoop to make the cake balls quickly.

- For better results when coating the balls with chocolate, use lollipop sticks to pick up and dip the balls in the melted chocolate; let them set with the lollipop stick still in them. You can remove the stick after the chocolate has set.

- Use melted semisweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips mixed with shortening for a richer chocolate coating.

- Add chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or nonpareils in addition to or instead of sprinkles for variation.

- Dip some of the balls in melted white chocolate for contrasting colors and flavors on the dessert table!

- Try this recipe with chocolate pound cake and JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding for a brownie-like treat.

Content by Sabah Karimi.